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Introduction

The Pyramids of Giza (also spelled Gizeh) are three enormous pyramids in northern Egypt. They were built in the 4th dynasty, which lasted roughly from 2575 to 2465 bc, during the period in ancient Egypt known as the Old Kingdom. Paid laborers erected the pyramids on a rocky plateau on the west bank of the Nile River near Giza. The ancient Greeks named the Pyramids of Giza one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Those pyramids, as well as others in the vicinity, were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979.

Background

Three Egyptian kings—Khufu (Cheops), his son Khafre (Chephren), and his grandson Menkaure (Mykerinus)—ordered the construction of three huge pyramids that would serve as their tombs. The northernmost and oldest pyramid of the group was built for Khufu, the second king of the 4th dynasty. Called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the three. The pyramid rests on a base that covers 13 acres (5.3 hectares), and each side of the base is about 755 feet (230 meters) long. Its original height was some 481 feet (147 meters).

The middle pyramid was built for Khafre, the fourth of the eight kings of the 4th dynasty. The structure measures about 707 feet (216 meters) on each side. It was originally 471 feet (143 meters) high.

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The southernmost and last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure, the fifth king of the 4th dynasty. Each side measures just over 356 feet (109 meters). The structure’s completed height was 218 feet (66 meters).

In ancient and medieval times, people plundered both the inside and outside of the pyramids. Thus, the grave goods—the items that the kings were thought to need in the afterworld—originally placed in the burial chambers are missing. In addition, the pyramids no longer reach their original heights because they have been almost entirely stripped of their outer layer of smooth white limestone. The Great Pyramid, for example, is now only about 451 feet (138 meters) high.

Built near each pyramid is a mortuary temple. A stone causeway links it to a valley temple (pavilion) on the edge of the Nile floodplain. Also nearby are lesser pyramids used for the burials of the other members of the royal family. Surrounding the pyramids are extensive fields of mastabas. Mastabas are flat-topped burial structures. Relatives or officials of the kings were buried in them.

Great Pyramid

Khufu’s pyramid is perhaps the most colossal single building ever constructed on the planet. Laborers cut approximately 2.3 million blocks of stone, each weighing about 2.5 tons. They then had to transport the stones a few miles to the location of the pyramid. In the early 21st century historians discovered an ancient papyrus in an Egyptian port city. They learned from the document that the laborers used boats to move the stone. The completed Great Pyramid weighs about 5.75 million tons.

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The entrance to the Great Pyramid is on the north side, about 59 feet (18 meters) above ground level. A sloping corridor descends from it through the pyramid’s interior and ends in an unfinished underground chamber. An ascending passageway branches from the descending corridor. It leads to a room known as the Queen’s Chamber and to a great slanting gallery that is 151 feet (46 meters) long. At the upper end of this gallery, a long and narrow passage gives access to the burial room, usually called the King’s Chamber. This room is entirely lined with granite.

Building the Pyramids

The question of how the pyramids were built has not been satisfactorily answered. One theory is that the Egyptians built a sloping embankment of brick, earth, and sand around the pyramid. They increased the height and length of the embankment as the pyramid rose. The laborers then hauled stone blocks up the ramp by means of sledges, rollers, and levers. They probably wet the earth to make it easier to move the stone.

According to the ancient Greek historian Herodotus, it took 100,000 workers 20 years to build the Great Pyramid. The men were probably agricultural laborers. They worked on the pyramids only (or primarily) during the Nile’s annual flooding, when they were unable to work in the fields. By the late 20th century, however, archaeologists found evidence that as few as 20,000 workers may have occupied the site. They probably worked on the pyramids year-round rather than for just a season. Support personnel, such as bakers, physicians, and priests, accompanied them.

Great Sphinx

To the south of the Great Pyramid near Khafre’s valley temple lies the Great Sphinx. The sphinx is carved out of a single block of limestone. It has the facial features of a man wearing a royal headdress but the body of a resting lion. It is approximately 240 feet (73 meters) long and 66 feet (20 meters) high.

Most scholars date the Great Sphinx to the 4th dynasty and believe that Khafre commissioned it. However, some believe that Khafre’s older brother built it to commemorate their father, Khufu. These theorists claim that the face of the Great Sphinx bears more resemblance to Khufu than Khafre. That observation also led to speculation that Khufu himself built the statue.

The Great Sphinx has greatly deteriorated over the years. Beginning in ancient times, various people have tried to preserve the statue. The body has suffered the most erosion. The face has also been damaged, and its nose is missing. According to some, Napoleon’s troops shot off the nose with a cannon. However, illustrations that date before Napoleon reveal a noseless sphinx. Another theory states that a religious fanatic mutilated the statue in the 14th century to protest idolatry.

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